Evan watched Avlara dash to the inn with a smile. He was so happy that she wanted to join him in traveling this world. He had no idea where he was going and figured it would be best to have the company of a beautiful elf with him! Avlara had told him so much about this world and what the great dragonslayer had done as well. Evan could not believe that he had stopped a dragon at the age of 17 and that he had brought about everlasting peace to this world! It was going to take a long time for that to sink in!

The sun had completely descended now and it was quite dark. The temperature had also dropped and Evan felt a cold breeze blowing. He wished he had been transported to Yenway with his winter coat. He smiled at the thought of what everyone in this village would have thought about him in it. He put his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders to keep warm.

What Avlara had told him about the dark magic that mages were able to conjure made him feel wary and sad for her. Her poor parents, he thought. He could only imagine the amount of pain that it had caused her to hear how her parents died as well as the only possessions she had of them. There was joy in having them he was sure but also knew that it had to be quite painful.

Evan thought about his own parents for a moment and wondered how they were taking what happened to him. Were they even aware of the car accident? Were they even sad? Did they care? It was a sad question to think of but Evan had always felt like a burden to his parents. There had never been any kind of love that they showed to him during his entire life. He couldn’t remember when his parents had said a gentle loving word to him. His father always talked to him in a brisk way as if he was in a rush to be away from Evan. His mother would hardly look him in the eye as her eyes were always on her cell phone where she always had an important email to attend to.

There was a small pang of hurt that he felt as he thought about his parents. He had always felt so unwanted and invisible. But here in this world, he was seen and celebrated! A happy smile came to Evan’s lips and the feeling of hurt disappeared. He was someone here and someone that others thought was great!

Avlara opened the inn’s doors and came running toward him. He saw the bow and the quiver of arrows over her shoulders. She also had on a dark blue cloak and had one in her hands. She hurried toward him and smiled at him. “Here, I know you must be cold, dragonslayer.”

“Thank you so much, Avlara!” Evan took the black cloak. He set down his shield, wrapped the cloak around his shoulders, and tied the leather cords together. He instantly felt warmer now that the cloak was on him. “This is great! Thank you again!”

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Avlara was pleased by his words. “You’re welcome, dragonslayer.”

Evan noticed that the village was so quiet now that it had gone dark. He could hear the occasional sound from a cow or horse but other than that it was silent. He wondered if everyone had gone to sleep.

Avlara must have read his mind. “Usually when night falls, everyone turns in for the night. We are all early sleepers and risers.”

Evan nodded. “I wish I was like that. It’s always so hard to get up to go to work at Mikey’s Store.”

Avlara looked at him with confusion. “Mikey’s Store? What’s that?”

Evan chuckled. “Oh, nothing.” He then coughed and cleared his throat. “So, where do you think this beast is hiding tonight?”

Avlara perked up with adventure. “It has usually been spotted near the hills in that direction.” She pointed in the distance that was past the village’s limits. “It runs off so quickly when it is seen.”

“Okay. Let us tread carefully in that area,” Evan found himself saying. He was surprised by the courage in his voice. “If it tries to attack us, I want you to stand behind me. I will use my shield and sword to stop it.” Evan sure hoped that he could use his shield and sword. “But, if you do get a good shot at it, I want you to hit it with an arrow.”

“Yes, dragonslayer!” Avlara said in a very excited voice. Evan could see that she was so excited to be joining him in looking for the beast. Her entire face was radiant with exhilaration which Evan could see even in the dim light of the moon above. He smiled as she looked even more gorgeous. His eyes remained on her face and this caused Avlara to blush.

Evan looked away and nervously coughed. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Evan walked slowly to the outskirts of the village with Avlara beside him. His hand would nervously go to his scabbard as his eyes looked everywhere at once. Every small sound made him turn and look in the direction that it came from with alarm. Avlara was also jumpy too. She had unslung her bow from her shoulder and put an arrow in it. She walked with the bow and arrow pointed to the ground but would quickly raise it when she heard a sound too.

They kept walking and entered the large field. The wind had increased a little and the cold air tried to penetrate the cloak that Evan was wearing but he found that he was still quite warm. He was so glad that Avlara had given it to him. He was sure that he would be shivering with his teeth chattering. They walked toward the hill with both of them looking around for the beast.

There was the sound of sheep nearby. Evan’s hand was still on his scabbard. He heard a rustling sound and quick movement out of the corner of his eye.

“There it is, dragonslayer!” Avlara whispered beside him.